Afterlife
by ilovesoccer13
Summary: Honestly, I was so sad after Cal and Chloe died that I had to write something to cheer myself up. So here's my take on what happens to them after they die.


Cal stirred, his eyes fluttering open to reveal a bright light that nearly blinded him. He squinted, raising an arm to shield his eyes. It was then that he took the time to look down at himself, frowning thoughtfully. _"There's no blood on my shirt," _he thought, staring down at his torso. _"Why isn't there blood on my shirt?"_ His eyes widened suddenly, and realized where he was, and remembered what had happened. "I'm dead," he said aloud, and his voice echoed through this empty white abyss, this place he was trapped in and had no way of getting out of. "I'm dead."

His hand shot to the place he'd been stabbed, pressing down on it lightly and realizing that it didn't hurt one bit. There was still no blood, but he was wearing the clothes he had died in. _"The last thing I remember...the bridge...Wakefield...Chloe..." _His eyes widened, and his hand slipped into his pocket, pulling out the black box that had held the ring he was going to propose to Chloe with. Opening it up, he saw that it was still empty. _"She still has the ring...we were engaged. I proposed to her just before I died," _he remembered, sniffing loudly and wiping at his eyes. _"But I died so that she could get across the bridge. She had to have made it. She had plenty of time. If...if Wakefield got her..." _He shook his head quickly, not bothering to wipe away the tears this time, letting them roll down his cheeks and splatter onto the white floor beneath him.

"I thought everything after death was supposed to be painless," he whispered. "Am I just supposed to stay here forever, alone? If there's a heaven, how do I get to it from here?"

He looked around himself, taking a step forward, hoping that something would happen. Nothing did. "I suppose all I can do is wait and cry and hope Chloe's safe," he said, sniffing loudly. _"Don't be a pansy, Cal. Suck it up. You're a man. You died like a man, and you're going to...stay dead like a man?" _He squatted down slowly, placing his head in his hands and giving in, letting everything out, thinking as he cried. He thought about Chloe, mostly. Chloe in the bar, helping him get back their ring...he laughed bitterly as he remembered this. Having sex with Chloe, Chloe in the drain, getting her out, proposing, kissing her for the last time. He suddenly remembered Sully, how Sully had admitted to liking Chloe. He wondered if she'd marry him now instead. Sully was a good guy. If Chloe moved on and married Sully, Cal really didn't mind, now that he himself was dead. Sully would take good care of her. That is, if the two of them managed to make it off the island together.

He wiped at his eyes again, remembering his shot at Wakefield, right before they'd run onto the bridge. _"It was all so fast. I could've waited until Wakefield was closer to shoot at him...I could've ran into the woods instead of onto the bridge...I could've done so many things differently, and I wouldn't have ended up dead. Chloe wouldn't have had to watch me die."_

Chloe crying as he told her he loved her, Chloe crying as he was stabbed before her eyes, pain, so much pain, Chloe crying as he said her name, blood...all the blood...

Cal shivered. _"She made it over. I know she did. The last time I saw her, she looked like she could've easily made it over."_

The last time he'd seen her, she'd also had the most heart-wrenching look he'd ever seen on anyone's face. It had been worse than Abbey's face when she thought Jimmy was dead. _"She really loved me. I loved her so much, too. So, so much." _

A quiet tap made him raise his head, glancing around himself, something that felt remotely like hope creeping into his chest. If something was nearby, that meant he wasn't just stuck here by himself forever.

Another tap followed the first, and Cal took a step towards the noise, the white fog blocking his vision. Even if he stuck his hand out in front of him, it disappeared into the fog, invisible to him until he pulled it back. "Is someone there?" he asked, trying to keep his voice steady as another sniff escaped him. If there was anyone near him, he didn't want them to know he'd been crying.

"Cal?"

He froze in place, tears welling up in his eyes almost instantly as he felt his body begin to quiver. "No. No no no no no!" He swung his arm out in front of himself in an arc, trying to get the fog to clear, but it didn't help at all.

"Cal? Is that you?"

He continued to stand still, crying silently now, shaking his head because he knew that voice, and he also knew that Chloe could not be dead, because she had gotten across the bridge, because she'd had enough time and he'd died to save her, died so she could get across, died...

_"For nothing."_

A dark shape pierced the fog, becoming clearer and clearer as it grew closer, and Cal realized that he wasn't imagining things, and that he really had failed to protect the one person he loved the most, because Chloe was standing in front of him, staring at him as her bottom lip trembled.

"Cal."

She looked so beautiful, more beautiful than he'd ever seen her look, and he certainly hoped that he looked just as good to her as she did to him. Still, he hated seeing her here, because that could only mean one thing.

"Chloe...why are you here? Are you...?"

The look on her face told him her answer, and a thousand thoughts rushed through his head. Had it been painful? The last thing he'd wanted was to put Chloe through any kind of pain. Had Wakefield used the same knife on her that he'd used on Nikki, Shane, and him? He knew firsthand that being stabbed was extremely painful, and he hoped Chloe hadn't had to go through it.

Without a word, she stepped forward, embracing him tightly like she'd never let go, and Cal slowly wrapped his arms around her, hugging her back and leaning forward, inhaling deeply as the familiar scent of her shampoo reached his nose.

"He got you," Cal murmured finally, pulling away from her slightly to place a hand on her cheek, caressing it lightly with his thumb as he looked at her face. "I didn't buy you enough time. I'm so sorry."

She laughed bitterly, placing her hand on top of his and pressing it more tightly against her cheek. "You bought me plenty of time. I could've gotten across."

"What happened?" he asked, so quietly that he might as well have just mouthed it.

"I jumped," she said simply. He could see tears beginning to well up in her own eyes, and he couldn't stop himself from following her example. He wiped at his eyes for what felt like the millionth time.

"I told myself just a few minutes ago that I wouldn't cry," he mumbled, tugging her closer and wrapping his arms around her. "But I didn't expect you to show up here. You should be alive right now, and safe, and with Sully..."

"I didn't want to be with Sully, Cal," she replied firmly. "I wanted to be with you."

"But I tried to fight him off. I wanted you to get away, to be able to continue your life."

"I would never want to go on without you." She pulled away slightly, still in his arms, and held up her hand, showing him the ring on her finger. "You're my fiance, remember?"

He stared at her hand, then entertwined their fingers lightly, tugging her back again so that their faces were inches apart. "We're going to be stuck here forever," he told her.

"I don't care," she replied instantly. "I don't care where I am, as long as I'm with you." She reached forward to brush a tear off of his cheek with her thumb.

"I thought I'd go to heaven, Chloe. I thought we'd get married and grow old together and have kids, and then we'd both miraculously die on the same day, and we'd both go to heaven and live happily ever after. You weren't supposed to have to watch me die, and you certainly weren't supposed to...to kill yourself for me."

"Maybe not. But I don't regret doing it."

"I guess I would've done the same thing," he admitted, averting his gaze to the floor.

He felt Chloe place her finger under his chin, tilting his head up slightly so that their eyes met. "I love you, Cal."

"I love you too, Chloe," he replied without hesitation, his heart thumping wildly in his chest as Chloe's eyes slid shut, and she leaned forward, pressing her lips to his.

It was almost like they'd never kissed before. This kiss was so soft and so innocent, and Cal could almost feel Chloe melting into his embrace as she sighed against his lips. "Cal..." she murmured, her hands sliding upwards to settle in his hair. "We can just stay like this forever," she whispered. "Just the two of us. We can talk and touch and kiss for as long as we want, whenever we want..."

Her breath against his ear was sending shivers up and down his spine, and he knew she must've sensed it, because she placed a kiss on his temple, smiling against his skin before she pulled away. "You should've seen the look on his face," she said, smiling at the memory as she moved to grip his hands with hers. She looked positively radiant. This was the happiest Cal had seen her in a while. "I used to research him, you know that, so I knew what kind of killer he was and what he liked to do, how he liked to kill...he looked so...so robbed. Like I'd just stolen the thing he loved most away from him. Even if I'd managed to get across that bridge, he might've gotten me later anyway. But I didn't let him. He couldn't do a thing about it when I let go. And the fall..." She shook her head, leaving her memories and coming back to the present, smiling brightly at him. "You know how I always wanted to go skydiving, right?"

Cal nodded. He'd been too scared to take her, but he'd never admit it.

"It was just how I'd imagined it. Unbelievable. And don't worry..." She pecked him on the lips lightly. "I didn't feel a thing."

He reached forward to tuck a strand of her hair behind her ear. "I did," he said honestly. She looked shocked, but he smiled. "I'm just kidding. Well, I'm not, but...you know what I mean. It doesn't matter anyway, because right now, this feels utterly painless, and you look more beautiful than ever."

She bit her lip. "Really?"

"Absolutely. You belong in heaven, with all of the other angels."

Chloe's face fell suddenly, and she shot him a nervous look. "Cal...what if I can't go to heaven? Since I jumped off of that bridge...that means that I..."

"Chloe, God would have to be crazy to not let you into heaven." He looked around them. "And I don't think we have to worry about that too much, anyway, because it doesn't look like we're going anywhere anytime soon."

"Mmm, more time for us," Chloe replied, already leaning forward to claim his lips again. Cal kissed her back like it was the last time he'd get to ever touch her, wrapping his arms around her and drawing her towards him, pressing their bodies together tightly as he deepened the kiss.

They broke away panting, staring into each other's eyes intensely, so intensely that they almost didn't notice when the light around them brightened, and the fog around them lifted. Cal's gaze slid from Chloe's face to what had been revealed behind her, and his eyes widened in surprise. "Chloe, look." He spun her around without warning, wrapping his arms around her waist as they gazed up at a set of pearly white gates just a few feet away, wide open, inviting them in.

"Is this...?"

"I think so," Cal replied, answering Chloe's unfinished question. "Told you he'd be crazy not to let you in."

Cal moved to stand by Chloe's side, taking her hand lightly as the gate in front of them continued to sparkle and twinkle, and figures began to appear at the front of the gate. "Beth...Lucy...Malcolm..." Chloe began in awe, counting off their friends one by one as they appeared by the gate. "Shane...Nikki...even Mr. Wellington..."

"Would've never guessed they were next," they heard Shane mutter.

"I should've known you guys would end up here together," Beth said with a smile, as Malcolm threw an arm around her, pulling her closer to him.

"They're always together," Lucy added. She eyed them carefully. "Have either of you seen Gigi?"

Cal and Chloe exchanged shocked looks, then turned their attention back to the large group that had formed by the gate.

"Hey, are you two coming?" Nikki asked, waving them forward. "We can't wait to hear about how you both died. I know it's kind of depressing to think about at first, but you'll get used to it. Malcolm's story was pretty awesome."

"It was probably something ridiculously romantic," Lucy commented. "Like fighting over who was going to die for who."

Nikki let out a frustrated noise, stepping over to Chloe and Cal and pulling them forward. "Come on, get your asses inside heaven-" She gasped. "Whoops, I forgot we're not supposed to curse here. We're not allowed to drink either, which Shane isn't too happy about, but I don't think that'll affect you two much." She looked around at the large group of victims, then over at Chloe and Cal. "I guess there aren't too many left now, huh? Sully's still alive?"

"I suppose so," Cal replied, still trying to absorb exactly what was going on.

"Shame. I've got some unfinished business with that boy when he gets here," Nikki said matter-of-factly, continuing to pull them forward. "But anyway, I guess I'll be the one to officially say it: Chloe and Cal...welcome to heaven."

"Wait," Chloe said suddenly, yanking her wrist out of Nikki's grip. "How do you know we're...I'm allowed here?"

"Well, you wouldn't be here if you weren't allowed, now would you?" Nikki replied. "You seem like a nice girl though, so I don't see why you wouldn't be." She reached for their arms again, but Cal stopped her.

"Wait a second, Nikki. You all go ahead. We'll be there in a second, okay?"

Nikki paused, studying them for a moment, then shrugging. "Okay. We'll make sure the gates stay open until you're ready to come in." She left, joining the rest of the group as they headed back through the gates, disappearing in a flash of light.

"Are you ready for this?" Cal asked, placing his hands on either side of Chloe's face.

"I...I think so. We'll still be together once we get inside, right?"

"Of course we will. You saw all the others, they were all smiling, and they were talking like they'd been friends for years. We'll see all of our old friends, and we'll see each other. Everything will be fine."

"Promise?" Chloe asked quietly.

"I promise," he replied firmly, kissing her quickly and then caressing her cheek lightly. He let go of her face after a moment and gripped her hand again as they turned to face the gate. "Ready?"

"Yeah. I'm ready."

"Alright. Let's go."

And they started forward, heading toward a new beginning, a new place, and a new life. Together.


End file.
